England haven’t appointed a foreign manager in 14 years
The Football Association won’t rule out the possibility of appointing an overseas manager to replace Gareth Southgate.
Southgate called time on his eight years in charge of England days after their Euro 2024 final defeat against Spain.
In an emotional statement to the fans, Southgate said “it’s time for change, and for a new chapter” before hailing supporters as ” the best fans in the world”.
Attention will now of course turn to finding a replacement before their first game of the new season, against the Republic of Ireland in the Nations League on September 7.
FA won’t rule out overseas appointment
A number of names have already been touted with the vacancy including Eddie Howe and Graham Potter however there appears to be plenty of non-English managers in content.
Jurgen Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel are among some of the names however it remains to be seen how supporters would welcome this.
England haven’t appointed a foreign coach since Fabio Capello in 2007 and his record at the 2010 World Cup and 2012 Euros was largely disappointing, with fans never really warming to him from the start.
However according to BBC’s Dan Roan, he stated that ” they want the best person for the job” before adding that the FA initially had hoped he would stay and lead them into the 2026 World Cup, but have also had contingency plans in place for the day he did depart.
What will Southgate do now?
His work with England will no doubt make him a man in demand however it’s more than likely that Southgate will take some time away from football.
Manchester United are a side who have been heavily linked with him in the past and should Erik ten Hag fail to hit the ground running, may come back into contention.
Meanwhile ITV have allegedly offered him the chance to become a pundit for live coverage of games going forward.
Related links:
- Gary Lineker reveals who England should go ‘all out for’ as Gareth Southgate steps down as manager
- Jamie Carragher defends Gareth Southgate and claims another ‘fact’ that is to blame for Euros defeat
- Surprise name in contention for England job after Klopp stance revealed
